Lakota Flower

by Janelle Taylor

  Chumani gaped at the woman in disbelief as she murmured in English, “She is Wastemna, daughter of our past war chief.”

  Caroline was intrigued and stunned by Chumani’s reaction to the woman’s return. She noted that Chumani’s gaze was narrowed and chilled, her tone was cold, her body was rigid, and her fists were balled so tightly that her knuckles were white. She glanced at Macha, who stared wide-eyed at Two Feathers’ burden, but her reaction to the event was not as strong as Chumani’s. She whispered, “What happened to her? She has not been in your camp since I came. Was she captured by an enemy?”

  “She was banished four years ago for trying to slay me and for many other bad deeds. She was forced to leave our band as punishment. She was told never to return. It is wrong for her to enter our camp and our lives again.”

  Caroline was astounded by that news. She surmised that since Indians were nomadic and did not have jails and prisons, exile was the penalty for the crime of attempted murder, even of their future chief’s wife. Perhaps they were more civilized than her people believed, as they could not bring themselves to execute even a guilty woman. “Why did she try to kill you?”

  “She desired Wind Dancer and I had joined him. She wanted me dead or tricked into returning to my people so she could have him. Hanmani and Dawn learned of her evil and exposed it. She is not Sweet Smelling as her name says; she is tainted with evil and stinks of it. She shamed herself and her parents, and she ensnared her mother in her bad deeds. Buffalo Hump was a good and cunning war chief, but he could not allow his wife and child to leave without him for their protection and hunting. They left to join another band and we have not seen or heard from them since they rode from our camp long ago. Why does she return and alone?”

  Caroline realized Chumani did not expect her to answer that query, as it was asked more of herself than of another who was ignorant of the matter. “It is strange, Dewdrops. Doesn’t she fear punishment for her defiance?”

  “Her boldness is too large and she has many cunning ways. Perhaps she thinks she can trick us into allowing her and her parents to return. See how she tries to look afraid, weak, and hurt. Such things are false and sly. She proved she fears little when she tried to slay me or turn me against my husband and the Red Shields and to turn them against me. Winona was almost slain by one of her bad deeds, but I saved my second mother’s life. Two Feathers shows he is unwise and cruel to bring her here.”

  Before she could reason if it was smart or rash, Caroline suggested, “Perhaps Two Feathers has turned against Wind Dancer as with his brothers and now seeks to injure your husband in some clever way, just as he seeks to wound and shame War Eagle and Cloud Chaser. Will he be punished for disobeying your law?” Perhaps be exiled and put out of my hair…

  “I do not know. Two Feathers is a great warrior and comes from the bloodline of their past chief, his grandfather. I will watch him closely for bad deeds against my husband, and I will watch Wastemna with eagle eyes until she is sent away once more.”

  “I will help you watch them, Dewdrops, my friend,” Caroline offered.

  Chumani glanced at the white female and smiled. “That is good and I thank you. I will ask Hanmani and Dawn and Zitkala to do the same.”

  Caroline noted that while they were talking in whispers, others joined the crowd around that scene: Rising Bear and Winona, Nahemana and Little Turtle, Wind Dancer and his best friend, Red Feather, Hanmani, War Chief Blue Owl, and Pretty Meadow and Runs Fast, the parents of her nemesis. Neither she, nor Chumani, nor Dawn spoke as they observed the incident, as they could hear little of the discussion taking place too far away from them.

  After a while, a stimulated Hanmani joined them in a hurry to relate the astonished news. She revealed that Two Feathers had found Wastemna, hurt and hiding, while he was out hunting alone. The concealed woman had sighted and signaled to him, and he approached her and learned that her parents had been slain by a Pawnee raiding party. Wastemna told him they had wandered about the territory since leaving camp because no ally would accept them because of their banishment. Wastemna had said that when her father saw enemies coming, Buffalo Hump had forced her to hide while he and her mother battled with two warriors. She had been injured when she disobeyed to help them. Her father had slain one Pawnee and she had slain the other, but her parents died from their wounds. Two Feathers tended her injuries and brought her to camp with him.

  Hanmani whispered, “She pleaded with Father and the others to be allowed to return or to be slain, for she cannot survive winter alone. She said she had suffered much for her evil. She pleaded for our forgiveness and for mercy.”

  The seventeen-year-old girl went on to tell the women that Two Feathers had reasoned that since Wastemna was alone and helpless, injured and hungry and had no possessions to survive the coming winter, had helped slay two of their enemies, and begged for forgiveness for her past wickedness, she should be allowed to rejoin their band. When others had protested and reminded him of her serious offense, he had argued that the Four Virtues were Generosity, Courage, Wisdom, and Fortitude. He had pointed out that sending her away in her condition was not honoring those traits, and it required the use of all four to allow her to remain with them. It was decided that Wastemna would stay in the tepee of Blue Owl until the council met, talked, and voted on her fate.

  Chumani said, “You saw and heard her up close. Do you believe her?”

  Hanmani took a deep breath as she considered the question. “I do not know, my sister. Does the fawn not lose its spots? Does the snowshoe rabbit not change its color from brown to white in winter? Does a hard bud not become a soft flower? Does a dark cloud not drift away and the sun return? Does the buffalo calf not lose its reddish hide and become brown when it is grown? If Wastemna has changed, it would be wrong and cruel to send her away alone to face certain death. Perhaps she is bad no more, for she has endured much suffering and pain in four circles of the seasons.”

  A suspicious Chumani, who vividly remembered the woman’s past evil, refuted, “Perhaps her heart has grown harder, colder, and darker.”

  “If that is true, my sister, she will expose herself to us. Is it not best to allow the Great Spirit to test her, and to punish her if she is still bad?”

  After the wife and sister of Wind Dancer went silent, Caroline asked, “What happened, Dewdrops? I could not grasp all of Hanmani’s words, for they were spoken in haste from her excitement.”

  Chumani related what Hanmani had said and her own response. She went on to reveal what had taken place years ago with the ex-war chief’s daughter. “I do not trust Wastemna, my friend. Is that wrong of me?”

  Caroline knew the Bible said to forgive those who had done evil against you and she supposed that a person could alter from bad to good, but she placed a hand over her heart and said, “If I were Dewdrops, I would feel and think the same way. If Wastemna has changed, let her prove it to you.”

  Chumani smiled and said, “Thank you, my friend, for you are wise.”

  Even the gentle-spirited Hanmani nodded in concurrence. “I must go help Mother with our tasks. Do not worry, my sister, for I watch over you as I did long ago.”

  Chumani smiled at the girl in gratitude. “I must go to my tepee, for there is much talking to do with my husband before he meets to vote.”

  After the council met and voted, Hanmani hurried to Macha’s tepee to tell her best friend that Wastemna would be allowed to stay with Blue Owl and his wife at least during winter if she committed no new offenses. The two talked for a while, as that decision surprised both of them.

  Not long after Hanmani left, Caroline and Macha saw Two Feathers approaching them near dusk as they returned from fetching fresh water.

  “Ye sni ye.” Macha whispered for Caroline to stay with her, as she did not want to face that man alone, and feared he still lusted after her.

  “Toniktuka hwo?” Two Feathers smiled and asked how Macha was doing. He did not even glance at the white female nearby.

 
“Mantanyan.” Macha told him she was fine and tried to appear calm.

  Two Feathers said he had slain a large doe and was sharing part of it with her because she needed fresh meat since he had noticed Bent Bow’s offering yesterday was small. As he spoke, he set down a hide, loosened its ties, and showed her a big hunk of game. He told her she also could have the hide for making herself or her son a garment during winter.

  Macha knew, just as she realized that Two Feathers knew, she could not refuse his generosity or it would shame her. “Pilamaya.”

  “Ake wancinyankin ktelo.” He told her good-bye and he would see her again. He added, if there was more she needed, to summon him to get it.

  Again Macha was compelled to feign appreciation and to thank him. “Pilamaya.” Wanting him gone fast, she lifted the bundle to go inside.

  As Caroline attempted to follow Macha, she had to pass the repulsive and menacing warrior, who gave her a look that made her cringe and her steps almost falter, though Black Fist’s knife sheath was secured around her waist, an enemy blade she had not wanted to use to deliver Inunpa last month. If it was possible, she fretted, his frigid gaze stripped her naked and flogged her to a bloody pulp before ravishing her. Before she could avert her gaze, she saw him send her a wicked and threatening sneer. She hurried past him, ducked, and escaped into the tepee. Although she heard him leave, she turned and peered outside to make sure he had. She realized she was shaking and breathing fast. She wished he didn’t intimidate her so much, but he possessed the power to do so. She had no doubt his heart and soul were as black as the new moon rising!

  Macha asked, “What is wrong, Caroline? You look afraid.”

  Since she did not know how to explain her perceptions in Lakota, all she could say in that language to partially get her point across was, “I fear Two Feathers. He is bad.”

  “Han, sica iye.” Macha quickly agreed as she prepared to breast-feed Casmu. You do not know how bad I think he is, for I believe he killed his wife and tried to blame an enemy Crow. If only I knew what Sisoka learned that provoked her death, I could have him slain or banished. Help us, Great Spirit, for evil lurks within his body and he still seeks my husband’s life.

  Macha recalled a short talk with Two Feathers following her beloved’s Sun Dance Ritual last summer when the evil man continued to mistrust and to speak against Cloud Chaser. He had told her, “When he is here no more, Dawn, you will turn to me again.” She had responded, “No, Two Feathers, I will not, for I do not love or desire you.” The very next day, he had joined to Sisoka, shocking not only them but also many of their people with the unexpected event. Then, not long afterward, she had found Sisoka facedown in the river with a head wound and clutching a Crow wanapin. Suspecting who was to blame for that evil, she had concealed the necklace before exposing Sisoka’s death, which was accepted as an accident. Macha was not convinced that was true, and she still mistrusted Two Feathers.

  Caroline furtively watched Macha for a few minutes and surmised that her friend was intimidated by Two Feathers. That deduction strengthened her resolve to thwart the man’s evil intentions, whatever they might be. She had promised Cloud Chaser she would help and protect his wife and son, and she would do what she must to honor her word. She was relieved she was allowed to wear a weapon and she would use it against any threat to them. Yet, she hoped Two Feathers would not provoke such an incident, as it could cause trouble for her when she was making excellent progress with most of the Red Shields and with her heart’s desire. Wasn’t she?

  On the following day, War Eagle watched soldiers as they worked near the road and river to build long and high sod walls with firing and observing holes in them. The site contained what Cloud Chaser said were two bastions for repelling the enemy during an attack and a sod structure where the men would eat and sleep and keep warm in the winter. He had been relieved when Cloud Chaser finally returned from Ash Hollow where his brother had sneaked close enough to overhear the soldiers receiving their orders and talking amongst themselves. His brother had learned the site was to be called Fort Grattan in honor of the lieutenant whose death had initiated this current conflict. It would be manned by the 2nd Dragoons and was being built “to provide protection for wagon trains, payroll shipments, and mail stages between Forts Kearny and Laramie.” While spying, Cloud Chaser also had learned that General Harney and his forces were heading for the latter location in two more days. That told War Eagle it was time for his brother to carry out his important part of their quest, to part with them and to go there to scout the enemy up close, as a white man. To reach that destination and renew past acquaintances with people there before Harney arrived, Cloud Chaser would have to leave at first light tomorrow. War Eagle listened as his half-white brother related his plans.

  “I brought everything I need with me: my white garments, weapons, supplies, and saddle. I must prepare to enter their world once more as Chase Martin.” After that statement, Cloud Chaser withdrew his sharp knife and began to cut off his long hair to the length and in the style that his adversaries wore. He left to go upriver to bathe, to remove any Indian scent from his hair and body. He dressed in a cotton shirt, pants, and boots. At last, he was ready to meet his next challenge, which could be a lethal one.

  Shortly before sunrise but as soon as there was sufficient light to see the trail ahead, War Eagle embraced Cloud Chaser and cautioned, “Stay alert, my brother, for the white man is sly and dangerous. They are many and you are one. After we have tracked and spoken with our Brule allies, we will camp at the chosen spot near Fort Laramie to wait for word from you.”

  Cloud Chaser then clasped wrists with Swift Otter, his cousin Broken Lance, and River’s Edge, the twin brother of Macha. To the last man, he urged, “If I do not return and my spirit rejoins the Creator, take care of my beloved wife and son. Let no man or force harm them.” After River’s Edge nodded, Cloud Chaser warned the others, “If I am taken captive at the fort, do not try to rescue me. I will find a way to escape them. I go now. May the Great Spirit protect and guide all of us in our journeys.”

  “Heyapi,” the other men voiced in unison as they agreed, It is said.

  On Tuesday, September 11, Cloud Chaser reached his target, five days after he left his brother and companions at Ash Hollow. It was evident the military post was strategically positioned atop a lofty and almost flat bluff overlooking the Laramie River, eastward of the Laramie Mountains and the vast stretch of the Rockies. The wisely chosen site provided well for the troops, trappers and hunters, traveling peddlers, adventurers, prospectors and explorers heading farther west, and for passing homesteaders. The river offered an ample water supply; the grasslands, grazing for their stock; the North Platte Road and two emigrant trails, a connection to forts and trading posts in both directions; many animals for fresh meat; assorted birds and fish for additional sustenance; and nearby forests for lumber.

  As with his last visit, there still was no stockade encompassing its structures and cannons, as if the army did not fear an Indian attack and was evincing its bravado and confidence. Some of the structures included barracks, stables, bakery, sutler’s store, smithy, lumber shed, saddlery, magazine, guardhouse, supply storages, and officers’ quarters. He noted there was more housing for soldiers and remembered that construction of them was in progress late last summer. Most of them had two stories, many windows, railed porches, and highpitched roofs with multiple chimneys jutting from them. They were situated around an enormous parade ground with a tall staff, from which the American flag danced about in a strong wind.

  Fort John, a big adobe building that had first served this area and now belonged to the American Fur Company for trading with trappers and Indians, sat close to the river bluff. Unlike the new fort, John had two guard towers and an adobeenclosed yard for protection against “hostiles,” as well as two brass cannons and—he recalled—weapons within the workers’ easy reach.

  On a grassy area below one section of the extensive bluff, Cloud Chaser glimpsed a few ho
mes, no doubt for officers, and other unknown structures. Beyond them was a cluster of Indian tepees where the waglukhe camped and lived year-round as beggars. The “Loafers,” outcasts or deserters from various bands, were viewed by the Indians as being “lazy” and “worthless” because they had become dependent upon the white man for survival and no longer practiced and honored “The Old Ways.” The men seemed satisfied to allow their wives and daughters to do laundry, to clean quarters and homes and offices, and to prostitute themselves to the soldiers and fur company men. While their women were busy earning meager amounts of money or trade goods, they either sat—alone or in small groups—on tattered rush mats or lay around on worn and dirty and smelly buffalo hides sleeping, or drinking, or gambling. A few of the women were said to be squaws of some soldiers, but those men were not allowed to marry Indians under white law or to make a home with them. All those unfortunate bluecoats could do was “visit” their females while off-duty and support them to keep them nearby.

  Not so, Cloud Chaser thought, where the other and larger Indian camp was situated along the river a short distance away. That was the camp of Red Cloud of the Bad Faces Oglala band, a chief who was respected and liked by Indians, white men, and soldiers. Red Cloud endured the whites’ presence and travels across Lakota lands. He traded with them, but did not accept handouts; nor had he given up “The Old Ways.” He believed it was wise to learn all he could about the intruders, and to retain peace with them for as long as possible, though he also believed that a great war would come between the two cultures in the future. He had made certain the army knew he and his band were not involved in and did not condone the Grattan slaughter. He was considered a great thinker, speaker, leader, and warrior.